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Electronic Thermostat and Relay

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Here is a simple thermostat circuit that can be used to control a relay and supply power to a small space heater through the relay contacts. The relay contacts should be rated above the current requirements for the heater. Temperature changes are detected by a (1.7K @ 70F) thermistor placed in series with a 5K potentiometer which produces about 50 millivolts per degree F at the input of the LM339 voltage comparator. The two 1K resistors connected to pin 7 set the reference voltage at half the supply voltage and the hysteresis range to about 3 degrees or 150 millivolts. The hysteresis range (temperature range where the relay engages and disengages) can be adjusted with the 10K resistor between pins 1 and 7. A higher value will narrow the range. Electronic Thermostat and Relay Circuit Diagram In operation, the series resistor is adjusted so that the relay just toggles off at the desired temperature. A three degree drop in temperature should cause the relay to toggle back on and remain on...
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Minimalist Dip Meter

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In days gone by a radio amateur always had a dip meter close to hand in his ‘shack’. Now that people can afford oscilloscopes, the poor old dip meter has lost its importance and is  frequently no longer to be seen. Actually this is a shame because many tasks are much easier to carry out with a dip meter. Anyone who’s interested (perhaps the second time around) can easily build one rapidly with this very simple but adequate circuit. The interesting question is namely what do you actually need from a dip meter? Minimalist Dip Meter Circuit Diagram A visual display of the dip? Nope, the ‘scope can handle that task. A large frequency scale? Not necessary, as you can connect a frequency counter for this. A selection of coils? We don’t need these because we can use a jumper to change range (no coils to lose any more!). The sensor coil L1 has ten turns and is wound  using an AA-size battery as a former. This coil will allow us to over the range from 6 MHz to 30 MHz. With jumper JP1 op...
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Automatic Bathroom Light with Back up Lamp Circuit Diagram

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Sometimes we forget to switch off the bathroom light and it remains on unnoticed for long periods. This circuit solves the problem of electricity wastage by switching off the lamp automatically after 30 minutes once it is switched on. The back-up LED lamp provided in the circuit turns on for three minutes when mains fails. This is helpful especially when you are taking a shower at night. The circuit is built around binary counter CD4060 (IC2), which has a built-in oscillator and 14 cascaded bistable multivibrators. The oscillator generates clock pulses based on the values of resistors R3 and R4 and capacitor C3. Automatic Bathroom Light with Back-up Lamp Circuit Diagram   For the given values, Q11 output of IC2 goes high after 30 minutes of power-on. Resistor R2 resets the IC for proper operation. The output of IC2 is fed to the gate of the SCR via resistor R6 and LED2, which function as a voltage dropper as well as output status indicator. When the SCR gets gate drive, it fires to...
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Buck IC Boosts Battery Voltage for White LED

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 White-light LEDs are finding their way into many markets that incandescent bulbs once served. Flashlights are among the newer applications in which reliability, ruggedness, and ability to control the power draw of the LEDs make these devices attractive. With incandescent bulbs, the power management for the device is a simple on-off switch. However, the LEDs cannot operate directly from the two cells you typically find in most flashlights, because their required voltage is 2.8 to 4V, compared with a battery voltage of 1.8 to 3V. The power management has a further complication because the light output of the LED relates to current, and the LED's characteristics are extremely nonlinear with voltage. One approach to this problem is to boost the power supply with a current limit. A number of devices for LED applications are available; however, their current ratings are typically too low for the 1 to 5W that flashlight applications need. Buck IC Boosts Battery Voltage for White LED Circ...
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Fridge Door Open Alarm Circuit Project

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It beeps if the fridge door is left open for too long or hasn't closed properly, to stop food from spoiling. There are lots of other uses as well. A refrigerator or freezer door that is left open or ajar may cause the food contents to spoil. In some cases, the internal temperature of the fridge or freezer will be maintained if the refrigeration system can cope with the open door. Complete project: But without the door sealing in the cold air, it may be a losing battle. Running costs will certainly rise. Typically, refrigerators and freezers are in constant use in the summer months and so it is important to ensure that the door is not open for any longer than is necessary. Otherwise the fridge or freezer will not be able to keep the contents cool. And it will cost more money to needlessly run the fridge’s compressor in a futile effort to keep the contents cool. Circuit looks like: Even the most diligent fridge user may sometimes leave the door of the fridge or freezer open without r...
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Voltage Regulator 12v to 24v using 7812

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V oltage regulator 12v to 24v using 7812 . What many people do not know is it possible for a voltage regulator IC to provide an output voltage higher than its actual value. One method to achieve this is by connecting the "common" terminal to the middle point of a potential divider, but the problem with this method is that the regulators IC has a small quiescent current (~ 10 mA) flowing out the common terminal to ground. The circuit presented here avoids the problems of using the IC regulator to raise the voltage via the transistor Q1 to generate a low impedance to the common terminal video controller during the transfer of the voltage divider from a resistor divider network relatively high. The value of R3 is not critical, but should be low enough to accept the higher quiescent current without causing problems for T1. Voltage Regulator 12v to 24v Circuit Diagram 
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40 LED Bicycle Light Circuit Diagram Using 555 IC

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The 555 circuit below is a flashing bicycle light powered with four C,D or AA cells (6 volts). Two sets of 20 LEDs will alternately flash at approximately 4.7 cycles per second using RC values shown (4.7K for R1, 150K for R2 and a 1uF capacitor). Time intervals for the two lamps are about 107 milliseconds (T1, upper LEDs) and 104 milliseconds (T2 lower LEDs). Two transistors are used to provide additional current beyond the 200 mA limit of the 555 timer. A single LED is placed in series with the base of the PNP transistor so that the lower 20 LEDs turn off when the 555 output goes high during the T1 time interval. The high output level of the 555 timer is 1.7 volts less than the supply voltage. 40 LED Bicycle Light Circuit Diagram   Adding the LED increases the forward voltage required for the PNP transistor to about 2.7 volts so that the 1.7 volt difference from supply to the output is insufficient to turn on the transistor. Each LED is supplied with about 20mA of current...
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